A Long Time In Finance

Vertical farming has been hailed as the future of agriculture. More sustainable, needing fewer resources such as land and labour, and the capacity to grow crops all year round. So how far can it go and why have so many recently built vertical farms got into financial difficulty? Neil and Jonathan talk to Marcus Whately, chief executive of Grow Up Farms, about the challenges and whether vertical growing can really put a salad in every bowl.Presented by Jonathan Ford and Neil Collins.With Marcus Whately.Produced and edited by Nick Hilton for Podot.In association with Briefcase.News Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The hawks call it decoupling; the more dovish derisking. But it all means the same thing: imposing trade barriers between China and the West. Neil and Jonathan talk to China expert George Magnus about China's 2001 WTO accession, why the West's gamble on trade and democratisation failed, and also whether you can unscramble the trade relationship.Presented by Jonathan Ford and Neil Collins.With George Magnus.Produced and edited by Nick Hilton for Podot.In association with Briefcase.News Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

After several snoozeworthy decades in which its stock market and economy went nowhere, Japanese shares are testing highs they haven't seen since 1990, just as the country's great asset bubble was declining. There have been plenty of false dawns in the past, but this time, as Japan expert and value investor Alex Kinmont told Neil and Jonathan, it really might be different.Presented by Jonathan Ford and Neil Collins.With Alex Kinmont.Produced and edited by Nick Hilton for Podot.In association with Briefcase.News Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

With the outlook for shares cloudier than at any time since the 1970s, it is hard to know whether to be greedy or fearful. In search of enlightenment on this point, Neil and Jonathan talk to veteran investor and author Richard Oldfield about all things investment. These include active fund managers, how to judge them and whether they are worth the money, as well as high fees, ESG and whether the UK is the new Japan.Presented by Jonathan Ford and Neil Collins.With Richard Oldfield.Produced and edited by Nick Hilton for Podot. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

England's water utilities have been under fire for leaks and discharging sewage into the rivers, something we are told they don't have the cash for. So why are they paying out huge dividends, which almost tripled last year to £1.4bn? Neil and Jonathan are joined by David Hall, visiting professor at Greenwich university, to peer into the murky world of utility financial flows.Trigger warning: John Stuart Mill, private monopolies and nationalisation are all discussed. Presented by Jonathan Ford and Neil Collins.With David Hall.Produced and edited by Nick Hilton for Podot.In association with Briefcase.News Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The famous football club's owners, the Glazers, have put it up for sale for $7bn - or 10 times revenues. But instead of laughing out loud, several buyers are circling. With valuations at fever pitch. Neil (a Tranmere Rovers obsessive) and Jonathan talk to Kieran Maguire, football finance academic, about whether England's Premier League can sustain this sort of madness. Presented by Jonathan Ford and Neil Collins.With Kieran Maguire.Produced and edited by Nick Hilton for Podot.In association with Briefcase.News Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

There is a bit of a general spoiler alert this week as Neil and Jonathan talk to Louis Ashworth, FT Alphaville's resident Succession expert about the TV melodrama. Does the financial side of the plotline make any sense? Should the family sell Waystar Royco to GoJo? How big are the children's stakes and what are they actually worth? Is Kendall a billionaire or a messy centimillionaire? There's also an unscheduled reference to Wolverhampton and Dudley Breweries.Presented by Jonathan Ford and Neil Collins.With Louis Ashworth.Produced and edited by Nick Hilton for Podot.In association with Briefcase.News Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The country which first achieved nuclear fission has just become the third (behind Italy and Lithuania) to phase out its entire nuclear fleet. An odd time to do it, when Europe has just cut off Russian gas and the main alternative is to burn more coal. But that's the Green Party for you. Neil and Jonathan discuss the politics of Germany's contentious phaseout with Mark Nelson, energy consultant and nuclear advocate, and its economic consequences.Presented by Jonathan Ford and Neil Collins.With Mark Nelson.Produced and edited by Nick Hilton for Podot.In association with Briefcase.News Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

After four banks collapsed in March, including the Swiss giant Credit Suisse, is it time to start worrying about a new banking crisis, just 14 years after the last one? Neil and Jonathan talk to financial historian Edward Chancellor about the challenges posed to the financial system by interest rates shooting up after a long period of historic lows, the risks for central banks, and why bankers' addiction to "dangerous carry" may come back to bite investors in the rear.Presented by Jonathan Ford and Neil Collins.With Edward Chancellor.Produced and edited by Nick Hilton for Podot.In association with Briefcase.News Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In his youth, he commanded a motor torpedo boat called HMS Gay Charger, and in later life became a Mousquetaire d'Armagnac. In between, Nigel Lawson was Neil's second favourite Chancellor of the Exchequer since the Second World War. We discuss the life and achievements of Margaret Thatcher's most intellectually confident Number 11 neighbour, their turbulent relationship, and the decisions that still mark the way we live now. In association with Briefcase.News Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.